VOORHEES, N.J. — There have been highs and lows, encouraging rushes and disappointing stumbles during this Flyers season, and the cumulative performances of their special teams have followed similar charted paths.

Lately, there has been movement up the rankings in power play success, and slow, steady competence on the penalty kill, trends that explain a climb from a 1-7 start to their current 16-15-4 playoff-worthy positioning heading into a Saturday night rematch in Columbus.

You know, not that it’s great or anything.

“I think it’s been going pretty well,” power play quarterback Mark Streit said Friday. “You’re not going to score two (power play) goals in every game. It’s just not reality.”

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It was real for a pair of power play goals to key a 5-2 victory Tuesday night over the Washington Capitals. And not so much in an oh-for-4 power play performance Thursday night against Columbus.

As the outcome of that game would indicate, however, you don’t always have to have the power to produce a memorable night. Despite their power play failings, the Flyers produced a five-goal third period, capped by game-tying and winning shots by Claude Giroux. The last one, a blind, backhand bullet with 1:38 left, was simply inspiring.

But far from merely lucky.

“He works on that stuff,” coach Craig Berube said of Giroux. “Shooting backhanders and stuff. That’s a hell of a shot. Certain guys can do stuff like that. I’m not one of them.”

No, usually it’s about working to perfect certain aspects of the game ... such as special teams, which will become all the more important as the Flyers try to find a playoff foothold among several contenders in crowded Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference races.

“It’s too early now to know who’s going to be in the race for a playoff spot,” Streit said. “Usually it goes down to the wire, but special teams can make a big difference. If you look at all the games, a good power play and good (penalty kill) can make all the difference in making the playoffs or not. ... It’s a work in progress. We worked on it again today and I think it’s going in the right direction.”

The Flyers are on that track despite missing elite power play trigger man Vinny Lecavalier the past couple of weeks with a non-disaplaced fracture in his back. Lecavalier has skated two days in a row and is hopeful of a return just after Christmas, when the Flyers tour western Canada. When he gets back, he may find a more refined team at his disposal.

After toiling near the bottom of the league in power play production during the season’s first month, the Flyers are up to near middle of the pack status with a 17-and-change success ratio. They’re No. 12 overall in penalty kill at 83 percent.

Streit pointed out that killing penalties is mostly about diligence and effort. But probably the most effective form of killing penalties is by prevention, something Berube, No. 7 overall on your all-time NHL penalty minutes leaders list, says he’s stressed since being promoted to head coach.

“We’ve done a better job of not taking penalties,” Berube said. “We go on stretches where we take penalties, like five games in a row ... but then we stop. But we need to be better in that area all the way around. I don’t want to be the most-penalized team in the league. I don’t even want to be in the top five. It doesn’t help you at all, in any way, being the most-penalized team in the league. It hurts your players, kills your bench, ice time, all that stuff.”

When reminded about his 3,149 NHL penalty minutes, Berube didn’t have to remind anyone that most of them were accumulated through his job as one of the league’s best enforcers.

“Who, me?” Berube said. “I never took minors.”

Now he’s trying to teach players who deal in a faster-paced environment the same hands-off approach.

“It’s about being smarter,” Berube said. “I think we’ve done a better job. Like (Tuesday) night, (Brayden) Schenn gets run over, but we did a good job in not losing our five-minute power play. ... That’s what we’re trying to preach around here. You don’t have to be stupid. You can stick up for your teammate, but do it properly so you don’t lose your power play.